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Saturday, April 19, 2014

Today we are visiting the another North Eastern State – Mizoram. Mizoram means – the land of hill people. From Mapsofindia – “ The Mizoram cuisine offers mainly non-vegetarian delicacies. The people who belong to this place do eat vegetables, but they prefer to add some non-vegetarian ingredients to each and every dish they prepare. The staple food of these people is primarily rice. One of the most popular non-vegetarian items of the people of the state is fish. The most commonly used medium of cooking is mustard oil. The Mizos do not like to eat oily food and they prefer to cook most of the dishes with little oil.” With that being said that each and every meal has meat in it, it was a big challenge to land on a vegetarian meat free dish.. I got this recipe from here and made few changes..In South we make what is called as pachai milagai thuvayal, meaning Green Chili thuvayal. This is so similar to that. I have added tamarind and asafetida and the original recipe does not have that.. I have used half of green chili and half of red chili.. Choice is yours, you could either one only and both in different quantity. After roasting the red chili, it needs to be soaked in water for 10 minutes as it does not have water content like the green chili. A very spicy chutney..

Friday, April 18, 2014

After Manipur, let us travel to Meghalaya. Megha means “cloud”, aalayam means “place”, that is how the name Meghalaya should have been derived. Like the other North Eastern states, Meghalaya is also largely forested and Tribal people make up most of the population. And like the other North Eastern states, I had a tough time searching for a vegetarian recipe of the state as non-vegetarian was quite predominant. It was a breather when I found this simple salad on Sify from here. From Wiki – “The name means "the abode of clouds" in Sanskrit. The capital is Shillong, known as the "Scotland of the East". Meghalayan cuisine is unique and different from other northeastern Indian states.[83] Spiced meat is common, from goats, pigs, fowl, ducks, and cows. In the Khasi and Jaintia Hills districts, common foods include jadoh, ki kpu, tung-rymbai, and pickled bamboo shoots. Other common foods in Meghalaya include minil songa (steamed sticky rice), sakkin gata, and momo dumplings. Like other tribes in the northeast, the Garos ferment rice beer, which they consume in religious rites and secular celebrations”. After doing so many elaborate dishes for this BM, I wanted to do a simple one which is also easy and light on the stomach.. So I chose this delicious spicy salad which was very light and quite easy to make.. No cooking required and makes a great side. Have it with bread or soup for a light meal.

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Now this week is so much with 4 North Eastern states in a row.. Oh that was a research monger… Had to do so much search and research. But I am so happy and excited with the learning. Let us start the travel with Manipur, tomorrow will be Meghalaya and then Mizoram and then Nagaland… So visiting the beautiful and picturesque Manipur today. Manipur is very famous for the Martial arts, dance, theatre and sculpture. One state and it has 29 different dialects spoken – wow!!! Also the state’s dance is very popular – Manipuri.. It is a treat to watch for sure… Click here for Youtube video of one such dance. Coming to today’s recipe, it is a delicious and easy breakfast. It is made during the Manipuri festival – Lai haraoba, which literally means “When Gods are happy”. This makes 8 - 10 chaak-hao tanns. I got this recipe from here and loved it.. Rolling the chaak hao tann was so easy, that my little daughter made 2 pieces. She was super excited to do it… Thanks to little hands for help!!

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Welcome to state of Bollywood, Cricket, Fashion and all that shines!!! State of Maharashtra is one of the very popular and advanced state in the Country. From Wiki – “Maharashtra (/mɑːhəˈrɑːʃtrə/; [məharaːʂʈrə] ( listen))(Marathi: महाराष्ट्र), is a state in the western region of India. It is the second most populous state after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India. Maharashtra is the wealthiest state in India, contributing 15% of the country's industrial output and 13.3% of its GDP (2006–2007 figures). Mumbai, the capital city of the state, is India's largest city and the financial capital of the nation. Maharashtra is the world's second most populous first-level administrative country sub-division”. Coming to today’s recipe, it is very famous halwa that is a quick and tasty sweet which tastes best when served warm. This can be done in less than 15 minutes from start to finish. Most of the cooking is done in microwave here. This halwa is also called as Sogan Halwa, Corn Flour Halwa, Karachi Halwa.. This halwa does not have a very long shelf, so please use it up in a few days. I got this recipe from here

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Today we are visiting the state of Central India. Madhya means middle and pradesh is place and I believe that the story behind the name of the state - Madhya Pradesh. This is a very refreshing and delicious drink. It is scotching summer here and what a better way to beat the heat other than a refreshing juice.. So chilling!!! I got this recipe from here. Shikanji is also popular in the neighboring states of Maharashtra, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh also.. Since it is a simple post, I have shared some tricks of serving the juices in my post..

Monday, April 14, 2014

Come and travel with me to Kerala - Called as the "God's Own Country"... Kerala is a coastal state which has the highest literacy rate and lowest positive population growth rate in India. The state also has the highest human development index in the country. Kerala is very popular for the Black Pepper, Cardamom, Cinnamon, cloves, cumin, Tea and seafood. It is very picturesque and beautiful place with a beautiful coast, many coconut trees and fertile greenery. The Cuisine of Kerala is linked to its richness to its history and culture. Rice and Tapioca are also popular. Coming to today’s recipe, it is a sweet dish made with ada, coconut milk and jaggery.. This delicacy is made during the Onam festival. Onam is a festival of harvest celebrated in Kerala and is celebrated during September. The flavor of coconut milk, jaggery and the aromatic spices are so heavenly. I got this recipe from a few places online… This is like the payasam we make for festivals and marriages. Loved the taste and was so excited to have made this authentic dish..

Sunday, April 13, 2014

Cuisine of Karnataka has a lot of influence from Tamil Nadu, Andhra and Maharashtra. There are lot of bath here - Bisi Bela bath, Vangi Bath, Bagala Bath, Kesari Bath etc.. Bath mentioned here is for the rice. Some sweets are very popular here like the Pedha from Dharward, Mysore Pak and the very famous Maddur Vada from the city of Maddur and the list goes on.. Today we are enjoying Vangi bath which is a rice variety made with Brinjal / Eggplant. It can be accompanied by curd, appalam or vadam. Vangi Bath is best when had hot, but also makes a great travel food and lunchbox dish. This is also a great way to sneak in some brinjals for folks who do not like it…